same-sex
Pastoral advisor Manfred Becker-Irrnen speaks during his sermon at the “Blessing for All” service at Cologne Cathedral. Several hundred people celebrated a blessing service also for same-sex couples in front of Cologne Cathedral. Sascha Thelen/dpa via Reuters Connect.
Eight Catholic priests held a ceremony blessing same-sex couples in front of the Cologne Cathedral in western Germany on Wednesday evening, in protest against socially conservative Cardinal Rainer Maria Woelki, the archbishop of Cologne.
Delegates attend the Church of England General Synod meeting in London, Britain, Feb. 9, 2023. REUTERS/Toby Melville
The Church of England will work towards drafting new pastoral guidance and other material needed to allow same-sex couples to receive blessings from priests over the next few months, it said on Saturday.
President Joe Biden is applauded as he signs the “Respect for Marriage Act,” a landmark bill protecting same-sex marriages, during a ceremony on the South Lawn at the White House in Washington, D.C., Dec. 13, 2022. REUTERS/Kevin Lamarque
President Joe Biden signed the Respect for Marriage Act into law on Tuesday at a jubilant celebration that featured singer Cyndi Lauper performing “True Colors” in front of thousands of supporters on the White House lawn.
Senator Tammy Baldwin (D-Wisc.) speaks during a news conference following the weekly Democratic caucus luncheon at the U.S. Capitol in Washington, D.C., Nov. 29, 2022. REUTERS/Sarah Silbiger
The Senate passed a bill on Tuesday that would protect federal recognition of same-sex marriage, a measure taken up in response to worries the Supreme Court could overturn a 2015 decision that legalized it nationwide.
German bishops fold their hands in prayers during a service to open the annual bishop's conference in Fulda, September 25, 2007. REUTERS/Kai Pfaffenbach
“If we say that God is love, I cannot tell people who embrace loyalty, unity, and responsibility to each other that theirs is not love, that it's a fifth-or sixth-class love” said Christian Olding, a priest in the western city of Geldern.
rainbow wall image by Antony McAulay / Shutterstock
The small stack of envelopes that arrives at Grace Community United Church of Christ in St. Paul, Minn., each day are filled with good will and small bills – ones, fives and tens mostly.
The donations lift the spirit, said Rev. Oliver White, but they likely won't be enough to save the church.
“Technically, we should be packing,” White said.
On June 1, the church will likely default on a high-interest loan and lose its building, unless it can come up with $175,000 to buy the loan out.
As of Wednesday (May 16), Grace Community was about $170,000 short, but its plight has gained considerable attention within and without the UCC, thanks to one of several reasons the predominantly African-American church may lose its home.
Communion photo, tarczas, Shutterstock.com.
A Catholic priest who allegedly denied Communion to a lesbian at her mother's funeral has been put on leave pending an investigation of unrelated "intimidating behavior toward parish staff and others," the Archdiocese of Washington said.
The Rev. Marcel Guarnizo, a priest from Moscow who has been serving in the archdiocese since last March, lost his assignment at St. John Neumann Catholic Church in Gaithersburg, Md., on Friday (March 9).
Guarnizo made headlines when Barbara Johnson, a lesbian attending her mother's funeral at the church, said he denied her Communion. At the time, the archdiocese said "issues regarding the suitability of an individual to receive Communion should be addressed by the priest with that person in a private, pastoral setting."
Guarnizo's removal is related to other issues and not the Communion incident, a diocesan spokeswoman said. The archdiocese said an official had received "credible allegations" of Guarnizo's behavior that were considered "incompatible with proper priestly ministry."
Same-sex couple celebrates outside of San Francisco City Hall Tuesday. Photo by Justin Sullivan/Getty Images
In a decision that likely will set the stage for a high-stakes showdown at the U.S. Supreme Court, the 9th U.S. Circuit Court of Appeals struck down California's Proposition 8 ballot measure that banned gay marriage, saying there is no "legitimate" reason to keep same-sex couples from marrying.